The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

25.7. Mstan's Task: Cooking With Fire and Back to the Basics
I love food! Without fire, I think our culinary adventures would be so much more limited... The aim of this task is to have fun finding out about how food can be prepared (with or without heat).

Book 1 - Read a book with the title containing the name of a dish that is normally/can be presented in a cooked (with heat/fire - steamed, fried, sauteed, baked...) form OR a book with a cover containing the image of such a dish.

For the title option, a NOUN reflecting the 'cooked' part of the name of the dish must be used. I will accept Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal ('rack of lamb') or Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, but not a title with the word 'cow' in it (we don't normally name our dishes 'cow'...) or a title with the word 'fried' in it (as 'fried' is an adjective, not a noun).

REQUIRED: For the cover sub-option, please post a link to the cover image. If the food is of an ambiguous nature (e.g. something that might either be a hard-boiled egg or raw egg, please post in the help thread and I will probably approve it for either option).

Book 2 - Read a book containing the name of a type of food that need not be cooked to be enjoyed. This may or may not go with the first 'dish' you chose (I won't judge you if you choose to eat a slice of cake for Book 1 and lettuce for Book 2). Here, you also have the sub-option of reading a book with a cover featuring such a type of food instead. Most fruit and many kinds of vegetables would work here, e.g. (mostly-eaten watermelon).

REQUIRED: For the cover sub-option, please post a link to the cover image.

Note: I will not accept generic words such as 'food', 'meat' or 'salad' for either option. Seasonings and spices will not be accepted either. If the dish you choose contains both raw and cooked ingredients and I can't tell which is which on the cover image (e.g. sushi), please see the 'required' field below for guidance - the requirement should cover this.

Required: Name the dish where the name of the food might appear (e.g. 'fish and chips') and/or explain in your post how the food is usually cooked or eaten if this is not clear/there is no corresponding dish name (e.g. 'I like to eat raw baby carrots as a snack' or 'This is sushi, which contains both cooked rice and raw cucumber. I'd like to use it for Option 1 (or 2).').

Useful lists:
Food in Book Titles
Food on the Cover
Mmmm....Food on the Cover

Please keep in mind that not all books on these lists may fit the task.Please do not post in this thread until the task creator has reserved posts 2 and 3.

Approved for Option 1:

Cover options:


Title options:
Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues
Gingerbread
Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken: The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Eat Cake
A Red Herring Without Mustard
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Approved for Option 2:

Cover options:


Title options:
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
I Was a Teenage Popsicle
A Place Called Sweet Apple: Country Living and Southern Recipes
Walking on Walnuts
Cream Puff Murder
Like Water for Chocolate
Blood and Chocolate
The Grapes of Wrath
Ella Minnow Pea
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Cereal Murders
The Peach Keeper
Peach Cobbler Murder
Sushi for Beginners

Generally OK for Option 1:
Coffee
Tea

Special notes:
I will accept pictures of eggs for either Option 1 or 2 if it is not clear whether the egg is cooked or not. I will also accept chocolate for either Option 1 or 2 as heat is involved in the preparation of chocolate, but it does not need to be cooked at home to be enjoyed.

Please see post #48.

Not approved:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ('vegetable' is too generic for the title option; however, this can be used as Option 2- cover as there are radishes on the cover )
The Sugar Queen ('sugar' is not a type of food)
Steamed ('steamed' is an adjective, not a noun)

Is there enough pie on this book to use it for the book 1 cover option?

will these work for book 1 adn book two I Was a Teenage Popsicle

Does "pie" work for #1?

Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s

How about "orange" for #2?

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison

Bake Sale Murder

Do baked cupcakes work?

For book 1 would the cupcake work in


and for book 2 would the apple work in


Thanks

Can I use a cover image of ice cream for book #2?

How are The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues for book #1 and for book #2?

would Gingerbread work for Book 1
and for Book 2?

I have a question... I was thinking of using Cream Puff Murder.
Technically, they need to be baked initially -- but I enjoy them right out of a fridge. Is that something that would be a Book A or Book B?

Just double checking:

Option 1)

Option 2)

I'm thinking of Eat Cake for book 1 and Walking on Walnuts for book 2. Will that work?

Would A Red Herring Without Mustard work for book 1 or book 2? I think people eat herring raw or pickled (*blech*), but they can be smoked, too.

I want to check these...
A-The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

AND

B-

Does Coffee Count?

Sassafrass, JennRenee and Jodi (#4, #5, #6) - OK.

KathyG (#7) - This works for Option 1 (cover). You'll need to post the cover image when you post.

Keltie Lee, Jessica, Lavinia, Aleksandra (#8, #9, #10, #11) - OK.

Beth NC, Bea (#13, #14) - OK.

Kristi (#15) - OK, but do mention in your post that you are referring to how herring can be smoked.

Meghan (#16) - OK for both. I guess people do eat raw eggs!

Jayme (#17) - Yes, I'll accept it for Option 1.

Christine US wrote: "I have a question... I was thinking of using Cream Puff Murder.
Technically, they need to be baked initially -- but I enjoy them right out of a fridge. Is that something that wou..."

Hi Christine, doesn't the choux pastry have to be baked in any case? I can accept this for Option 2 though because whipped cream, a significant ingredient in the 'cream' puff, is technically 'raw'.

Will this work for an apple? It looks gold and not a real apple.

Will Animal, Vegetable, Miracle work for either option since vegetable can be cooked or raw?

Steamed for #1?

Blood and Chocolate for 2?

Will donuts work for cover option 1?

Kathy G - OK for both.

Cindy - I would classify 'vegetable' as a 'generic' word or category header, like 'meat'. I would prefer something a bit more specific.

Angie - #2 is fine, but 'Steamed' is an adjective, and a noun is needed for the title option in #1.

How about beverages? Coffee, tea, wine.

Just wanted to check on these from my tbr-

For #1- (looks like cookies or latkes on cover) or (looks like meat on right side of cover)

For #2- or or (looks like tomatoes on left) or (looks like small bucket of apples to the left of window)or (berries in bottom spoon)


Thanks!

mstan wrote: "Kathy G - OK for both.

Cindy - I would classify 'vegetable' as a 'generic' word or category header, like 'meat'. I would prefer something a bit more specific.

Angie - #2 is fine, but 'Steamed' is..."

Ooh, I read part 1 wrong!

I was thinking of for book 2...but then realized that the fruit on the cover seems to be an apple/orange. I wasn't sure if this counted since it looks like 50/50 of each? Weird question! :)

Just checking to see if the following books will work for this task?

For book #1: has a picture of an apple pie on the cover

For book #2: Like Water for Chocolate chocolate

For book #2: The Sugar Queen

For book #2: The Peach Keeper

Could I use the "Peach" in Peach Cobbler Murder for option 2?

Valorie (#31) - OK

Mariya (#30) - everything OK except 'Sugar Queen' (I consider sugar a seasoning).

Randi (#29) - OK

Bea (#26) - OK for option 1 (except wine - although heat is used at some part, I'd say it's not a big part of the process and so would put it in option 2 - correct me if I am wrong though, because I'm not an oenophile).

Fran (#27) - everything OK except Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs - I am assuming she has a lollipop in her mouth but I can't see it.

Thanks mstan. I actually think it's a pencil in her mouth now that I enlarged it on my iPad. I'm glad you mentioned it, I think my eyes are aging rapidly :)

Hey!
does The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn work?? Huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho

Which, if either could I fit The Cereal Murders? Thanks!

Chel-c (#35) - OK for option 2

Kathryn CA (#36) - OK for option 2

would The Cupcake Queen work for option 1 and Ella Minnow Pea work for option 2 (I love raw peas from my garden)?

Robin (#38) - OK for both!

Hi Mstan!

Book 1: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Book 2: The Grapes of Wrath

Will these work?

Hi Anne (#40), both work! Happy reading! I love The Grapes of Wrath.

I just want to check:

Option 1: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Option 2:

Please and thank you!

Hi Meghan, I replied to you in msg #19 - both are fine!

Haha!!! I couldn't remember if I did or didn't and couldn't find my post :)

just want to make sure these work ...

book 1 - french fries -

book 2 - Sushi for Beginners

Hi Mandy Sue (#45) - OK for both but do state that sushi contains seaweed (uncooked).

For book 1, how about Catcher in the Rye for rye bread??

Kim wrote: "For book 1, how about Catcher in the Rye for rye bread??"

Hi Kim, this is a grey area because it's little like asking for 'lemon cake' to be truncated to 'lemon' and used for option 1. When I mentioned that 'a NOUN reflecting part of the name of the dish must be used', the noun must be a significant cooked part of the dish itself (e.g. 'mashed POTATO').

That's okay, I'll find something else, I have some other ideas. Catcher In The Rye worked perfectly for Donna Jo's 30.5. Thanks for answering so quickly!!

I would like to use Shades of Milk and Honey for Book 2.